It has long been known to provide flexible floating barge structures for the purpose of transportation of liquids from one location to another. A variety of structures has been suggested in the prior art. In particular, the applicant is aware of the following United States Patents from a search conducted in the facilities of the United States Patents and Trademarks Office:
______________________________________ 2,391,926 3,018,748 3,502,046 2,968,272 3,056,373 3,779,196 2,979,008 3,067,712 3,952,679 2,997,973 3,150,627 4,227,477 2,998,793 3,167,103 4,373,462 3,001,501 3,282,361 4,421,050 ______________________________________
The devices described in this prior art are of generally complex structure and of limited capacity. Such barges that have been reduced to practice are tubular in cross-section and have a high ratio of length-to-width, typically greater than about 20:1. One of the fundamental problems with which barges are required to deal is wave motion in a marine environment which, in many instances, demands the use of high strength, heavy and expensive materials of construction.
In the parent and grand-parent applications, the Examiner also has cited the following additional prior art:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,445; and PA1 French Patent No. 1,269,808
In particular the Examiner has relied on French patent No. 1,269,808 to SOMAF.
SOMAF discloses a rectangular pillow tank and relates to a technique for tipping the pillow tank on its side by the use of a weight and float arrangement. The tank is flexible and comprises of an envelope of rubber, resistant to the material to be transported. The tank is formed from a single sheet of material, folded on itself and joined on three sides. The tank is filled with liquid hydrocarbon, which causes the tank to float on water with its horizontal and transverse edges lying in a plane.
The pillow shape that the tank assumes when filled with hydrocarbon liquid has continuously curved upper and lower surfaces. As will be seen from the description of the invention below, the structure of the flexible barge provided by the present invention contrasts markedly with this structure, in that the structure of the present invention has substantially planar and parallel upper and lower surfaces, that is the upper and lower surfaces lie in planes that are parallel one to another, in contrast to the continuously curved surface in the prior art.